ConsenSys, AMD partner for blockchain cloud

Last week blockchain development house ConsenSys announced a partnership with Halo Holdings and chip-maker AMD to develop blockchain datacentre solutions. The new collaboration, “W3BCLOUD,” will build blockchain cloud workload solutions powered by AMD hardware which will be used to support government and commercial requirements.

W3BCLOUD also hopes to “accelerate” the adoption of decentralized applications and be the “first independent cloud computing blockchain infrastructure.” The announcement says the aim is to deliver increased “transaction throughput” as well as “state-of-the-art” security.

ConsenSys founder, and co-founder of Ethereum, Joe Lubin believes AMD’s processor technology will bolster the “compute power” of blockchain networks as well as the “scalable adoption of emerging decentralized systems.” Lubin adds: “The combination of hardware and software will power a new infrastructure layer and enable an accelerated proliferation of blockchain technologies.”

Joerg Roskowetz, director of product management for blockchain at AMD, echoed Lubin’s sentiment. He believes AMD can help deliver scale to blockchain and encourage the adoption of decentralized networks to meet the “growing interest from large corporations and governments looking to tackle challenges ranging from smart identity, enterprise data centers and health ID tracking, to licensing and supply chain management.”

Halo Holdings is an Abu-Dhabi-based investment management firm with a portfolio in large-scale technology and private equity investments across the globe. As the blockchain industry still feels the grasp of crypto-winter, Halo Holdings has likely joined the partnership to aid funding. Though ConsenSys has led many blockchain-related investments, it was forced to cut 13% of its 1,100 strong staff in December 2018. The Verge claimed the figure could rise considerably.

ConsenSys is no stranger to cloud hosting. To date, the focus has been on software tools with it’s Kaleido Blockchain Business Cloud which launched with Amazon Web Services in May 2018. The purpose is to empower groups to build a blockchain network faster and more easily. Kaleido is designed for Enterprise Ethereum and JP Morgan’s Quorum. It now has its marketplace for plug-and-play tools and services.

The AMD alliance has the potential to take things a step further by optimizing hardware drivers. AMD already has special drivers for cryptocurrency mining.